Vacuum cleaner



Nov- 14, 1 5 L. NAMENYl-KATZ VACUUM CLEANER Filed May 16, 1949 zluizeluroR W Patented Nov. 14, 1950 UNlTED STATES "PAT NTQLoFFICE VACUUM CLEANER Laszlo Namenyi-Katz, London, England Application May 16, 1949, Serial No. 93,623

4 Claims. (Cl. 183-6) This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and has for its principal object to render unnecessary frequent emptying by hand of the bag or other container for the dust.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means for subjecting the collected dust to a suificiently high temperature to consume any combustible matter present. As will be appreciated, by far the greater proportion of the bulky material collected by a vacuum cleaner is, in fact, combustible.

According to this invention, dust disposal device for a vacuum cleaner comprises a combustion chamber, a worm feed for feeding the dust col lected by the cleaner into the combustion chamber and means for igniting the dust in the chamber. It will be appreciated that, with this arrangement, the bulk of the dust collected is very appreciably reduced, thus rendering constant emptying of the cleaner unnecessary. The bulk of the dust can be still further reduced by provision of means for compressing the burnt residue.

Further features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of one embodiment thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawing Which is a perspective view partly cut away to show the internal combustion of the dust disposal device.

The combustion chamber is of cylindrical form and contains an electrical heating element l l arranged to raise the temperature of the space within the chamber sufiiciently to ignite the dust material when it enters the chamber. This heating element l l is surrounded by a protective sheath l2 formed preferably of copper so as to keep the filament thereof free from dirt. An opening l3 in the upper part of the combustion chamber leads into a .duct I4 containing a worm feed l5 which feeds the dust from the collecting chamber it into the combustion chamber Ill. The dust laden air passes into the collecting chamber from the vacuum chamber through the inlet duct ll, being impelled by the usual motor driven suction device, not shown. The dust collects in this chamber whilst the air passes out through the filter l8. An impeller 19 is arranged in the stream of air in the collecting chamber [6 and drives the shaft 22 of the worm feed through the gear wheels 20, 2!. The air passing out through the filter it enters the space between the two chambers and the outer wall 23 and flows around the combustion chamber it to the outlet grid 24, thus protecting the remainder of the apparatus from the heat of the combustion chamber.

The ash will collect at the bottom of the chamber ID in a tenuous form and is capable of considerable compression. In the chamber Ill which is of cylindrical form, there is mounted a blade 25 capable of rotary movement around the heating element. The blade is mounted on a shaft 26 which extends through a bushing 2'! in the end of the combustion chamber and is provided at its outer end with a handle 28. As the ash and dust builds up in the combustion chamber Ill, it is eventually compressed by arcuate movement of the blade 25. In order to assist in the compression of the ash, an upwardly extending partition 3! may be secured to the bottom of the combustion chamber so that the ash can be compressed between the partition and the blade.

The operation of the device will have been apparent from the foregoing description. The dust laden air enters through the duct i! into the collecting chamber H) where the dust col1ects,-the air passing out through the filter l 8. The .dust is carried down into the combustion chamber ID by the Worm feed l5 and there it is burnt. As necessary, the handle 28 is operated to compress the ash. The end plates 29, 30 of the combustion chamber are arranged to be readily detachable so that the compressed burnt residue may be quickly removed. Any gaseous products of combustion which may pass from the combustion chamber into the collecting chamber will pass out through the filter l8 which contains a deodorising unit such as an activated carbon filter.

I claim:

1. A dust disposal device for a, vacuum cleaner comprising a collecting chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a filter in said outlet to permit the passage of air out of the collecting chamber and to prevent the passage of dust, a combustion chamber, a worm feed for feeding the collected dust from the collecting chamber into the combustion chamber, means for igniting the dust in the combustion chamber and means for passing the filtered air from the collecting chamber around the outside of the combustion chamber to 0001 said combustion chamber.

2. A dust disposal device according to claim 1 wherein a rotary fan is provided for forcing the air through the filter, which fan is coupled to the drive for the worm feed.

3. A dust disposal device for a vacuum cleaner comprising a collecting chamber and having an inlet, for receiving the dust laden air, an outlet incorporating a filter, combustion chamber, a duct between the two chambers, a worm feed for feeding the collected dust from the collecting chamber through said duct into the combustion chamber, means for igniting the dust in said lat- REFERENCES CITED ter chamber and means for compressing the burnt residue in said chamber. 3 1; gg i gi are of record in the 4. A dust disposal device for a vacuum cleaner comprising a dust collecting chamber disposed 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS above a combustion chamber, an inlet in the N b collecting chamber for receiving the dust laden 588 5 y gi g g air, an outlet in said chamber incor oratin a p g 2,211,812 Colbert Aug. 20, 1940 filter, a duct between said chambers adjacent said filter, a worm feed for feeding the collected dust 10 from the collecting chamber through said duct into the combustion chamber, and means for igniting the dust in said latter chamber.

LASZLO NAMENYI-KATZ. 

